Germanwings plane evacuated after bomb scare

[BERLIN] A Germanwings flight bound for Italy from Germany was evacuated late on Sunday due to a bomb threat, the airline said.

Germanwings, a budget unit of German airline Lufthansa, has been in the spotlight after one of its planes crashed into a mountain in the French Alps this month, killing everyone on board.

Germanwings said the pilot of Flight 4U 826 to Milan was taxing to the runway when he received a call from the air traffic tower at Cologne/Bonn airport to abort the flight.

Passengers and crew vacated the Airbus A320 in an orderly fashion, it said, without saying how many people were aboard. It said federal police had received the bomb threat, but provided no further details.

A spokesman for Cologne/Bonn airport could not immediately be reached for comment. The federal police did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Germanwings said it was trying to offer passengers alternative flights while the A320 was being searched by sniffer dogs.

REUTERS